It's only February, and several big name first person shooters will be coming out soon. Bulletstorm has just been released, Killzone 3 is on the way soon, and the long-awaited Crysis 2 will be joining the fray as well. The first two shooters will contain cooperative elements, but Crysis 2 will not.
However, Crytek Studios CEO Cevat Yerli has gone on record and said that even if Crysis 2 will not have a co-op element, the campaign will be "beefy". Yerli also states that his studio's objective isn't overthrowing the current lauded franchise of Call of Duty, but rather offer a game that resonates with gamers.
Cooperative gameplay modes are present in most first person shooters today, either a cooperative campaign, 'horde' modes that pit several players against waves of enemies, or new inventions like Bulletstorm's Anarchy mode.
The lack of the feature in Crysis 2 isn't something that's going to be received particularly well by the gaming public and trading it in for a heftier campaign seems a bit uneven.
The Crysis series has been more known for telling the story of one soldier in a unique situation, and while other titles may be better suited for a co-op element, it might feel out of place for this one, and the story Crytek wants to tell. Though it is saddening to know that there won't be two soldiers in super-suits kicking cars back and forth to kill aliens.
Will the lack of this feature kill the experience for gamers? Yerli told CVG that he doesn't think it will be a problem:
"No, we won't be offering co-op. Our goal is to offer quite a beefy package and I think some people will be surprised at how big it is, but I don't want to talk too much about it because I'd rather they wait and play.
"We're not trying to dethrone anybody or make the next Call of Duty or Halo, we're trying to make a Crysis that hits the gamer's nerve and makes them think 'this is the most intense shooter I've played', 'I've played as I wanted to since the Nanosuit allowed me to be what I wanted to be' and 'it tells an awesome story'.
"That's what it's about for me, and if we hit those nerves I believe there's no reason why Crysis 2 can't be the No.1 title, but its intent and purpose isn't to dethrone Call of Duty."
While there is no official comment regarding the campaign's actual length, most FPS campaigns run about 8-10 hours. If Crysis 2 can deliver more than that with non-stop intensity, the lack of cooperative play is easy to forgive.
We've seen trailers detailing the game's story, combat, and Nanosuit technology. The glimpses have shone some light into what the Crysis 2 experience will be and it looks like a complete and substantial one, but will this be enough to draw users away from the other shooters they're playing today?
We'll find out when Crysis 2 releases March 22, 2011 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
Source: CVG
